"Loony Luna?"
The first thing Ron said upon seeing her was that name.
Hermione frowned slightly. "I don't think giving people nicknames is a very nice thing to do."
"No, it's not me! All of Ravenclaw call her that."
Ron desperately defended himself. He didn't want to give Dudley a bad impression as someone who liked giving nicknames.
"Hello, young Ravenclaw witch." Dudley stepped forward to greet her.
The young witch seemed to be in a daze, only waking up as if from a dream upon hearing Dudley's voice.
"Hello, Mr. Dursley." The young witch responded politely in a soft voice, which sounded like she was sleep-talking, as if in a dreamwalk.
Dudley's fame at Hogwarts was no less than Dumbledore's. You might not know who the professors were, but you absolutely had to know the Head of the Disciplinary Squad.
Dudley noticed the young witch was wearing a pair of radish-shaped earrings and a necklace made of a Butterbeer cork. Combined with the aura she gave off, she looked quite eccentric.
"What's your name?"
"Luna, Luna Lovegood."
Lovegood. The editor-in-chief of that unscrupulous newspaper, who doesn't pay for submissions, also has this name.
"It's very late now," Dudley said. "What are you doing here instead of sleeping in your dormitory?"
Luna answered without thinking. "I'm looking for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. I heard their sounds. Have you seen them?"
"What are those?"
Neville was stunned. His Care of Magical Creatures knowledge wasn't bad, but he had never heard this name. Could it be some new magical creature?
"A creature not recognized by the magical world... said to inhabit Sweden," Hermione, the encyclopedia, explained, looking at Luna with a complicated expression. "Most wizards don't believe they exist."
"They do exist," Luna said with an incredibly firm tone, as if she had seen them before.
"An unproven creature. I can't judge whether they exist or not."
Hermione shook her head, not planning to get entangled in this issue. Whether they existed or not had little to do with her. She wasn't some magical creature fanatic.
"Where are your shoes?" Dudley asked, pointing at Luna's feet.
The floors at Hogwarts didn't have heating, nor would they automatically adjust temperature. The weather had been getting colder recently, and the floors grew colder with the temperature, especially at night. It was like walking on eternal permafrost. This caused Luna's already pale feet to turn purplish-blue from the cold, unconsciously curling together.
"They often disappear for no reason. I think they must be hidden by some Nargles hiding in Hogwarts."
Even though her feet were trembling from the cold, Luna's voice still sounded optimistic.
"I don't think it was done by any Nargles."
Hearing this, Hermione put away her book, her expression turning serious. Luna's words reminded her of her own experience last year. Was this school bullying again? Hiding someone's shoes. Do they think this is fun?
"Walking barefoot on the ground for a long time can have some bad effects on your body, which even potions might not be able to completely cure."
Hermione said as she took off her own shoes and offered them to Luna.
"Your feet are about the same size as mine. You can wear my shoes for now. Just give them back to me when you find yours."
Harry's eyes widened beside them. Those shoes were Hermione's favorite pair, a gift from Dudley.
"Thank you," Luna said sincerely, but politely refused. "But if you give them to me, your own feet will get cold."
"It's fine." Hermione shook her head, then patted Dudley. "I don't think I'll get cold."
Luna looked at Dudley thoughtfully, but this time she didn't refuse.
After putting on the shoes, Luna was persuaded by the group to return to her dormitory.
Dudley leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. This time he didn't plan to offer any ideas. He wanted to see how Hermione and the others would handle it.
First, Malfoy turned his head to the group. "Obviously, this is another bullying incident."
"We should go with her, catch those bullies, and make sure they get the punishment they deserve," Ron said excitedly, a hint of... excitement in his tone?
Malfoy said with sarcasm dripping from his voice, "Putting aside that it's after curfew, are you planning to rush into the Ravenclaw girls' dormitory in the middle of the night? Little Turnip-head, that's a truly genius idea."
"I don't want to become famous as the Wolf of Hogwarts tomorrow like you would."
His tone and demeanor had captured the essence of Snape. Truly worthy of being Snape's second-favorite student.
Ron's face turned beet red. Combined with his red hair, it looked like his head was on fire. He started shouting about dueling Malfoy. Harry, after pulling him back for a moment, let go and simply pulled up a stool to watch them duel.
Of course, they definitely weren't going to duel.
Hermione spoke up then. "You need to catch a thief red-handed. If they claim Luna lost them herself, how would you explain it?"
As long as you didn't catch them in the act, there was plenty of room for manipulation. They could insist Luna lost them herself, and even if you knew it was bullying, it would be useless. What could you do?
"To punish them, you must have evidence. Otherwise, why would others believe you?"
"Then what do we do?"
Ron was dumbfounded. It seemed he had been too naive.
"As for evidence... we'll probably have it in a couple of days," Hermione said with a light, confident laugh.
In the Ravenclaw Common Room, Luna, back from her night wandering, returned to her bed wearing the shoes. Since these shoes weren't hers, she couldn't take them off. If they got lost too, she wouldn't be able to return them.
Actually, Luna only appeared dazed and loony. In reality, she was smarter than most young wizards, but her innate personality was such that she wasn't one to fuss over things with people.
But some things, just because you don't fuss, doesn't mean others will let you go. They might even think you're weak and easy to bully, leading them to push their luck and become even worse. When being oppressed, one must learn to resist.
Feeling the slight warmth coming from inside the shoes, Luna's heart felt warm.
What Luna didn't know was that after she entered sweet dreamland, the other girls in her dormitory woke up and gathered together, whispering about something.
In a girls' dormitory with four people, having five or six group chats is perfectly normal. This was another form of social exclusion.
"Look, that crazy girl got a new pair of shoes from somewhere. They're really nice."
To be chosen by Dudley as a gift for Hermione, the style was naturally top-notch.
"They look a bit familiar..." a young witch said hesitantly.
But her voice was too quiet and didn't attract anyone else's attention.
"How does she deserve them?" another young witch said with jealousy.
The other young witches quickly chimed in. "Let's hide them again. I'd like to see how many pairs of shoes she has."
How could something like losing shoes be done by someone from another dormitory? Who would frequently visit other dorms just to check if your shoes were there? It could only be someone from the same dormitory.